ID, please: Bill would mandate carding for M-rated game buys

A new bill hopes to criminalize the sale of M-rated games to minors by forcing …

With the prerelease controversy, release, and success of Grand Theft Auto IV, the issue of video game ratings and their enforcement is once again at the forefront of the public consciousness. Yesterday, Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) introduced the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act into the House of Representatives to try to force retailers into checking identification when selling M-rated games. Retailers caught selling M-rated titles to minors will be subjected to a $5,000 fine from the Federal Trade Commission.

The language and statements released by the bipartisan pair are unsurprisingly out of touch with the reality of most games. "The images and themes in some video games are shocking and troublesome. In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit 'virtual' murder, assault and rape. Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it," said Rep. Terry. "This bill requires an ID check before certain games are sold to an individual. This ensures that children can only access age appropriate content without parental permission. Families and children everywhere deserve the protection this legislation will provide."

Has there been a game where points are assigned for rape? In 1982 a game called Custer's Revenge was released for the Atari 2600, and indeed featured a very pixelated approximation of the rape of a native American woman. Since then? Not so much. This isn't the first time the issue of rape in games has been brought up by government officials in the US or abroad and, without any clear examples in the modern gaming space, it doesn't survive even the most cursory scrutiny.

This also isn't the first time Rep. Matheson has tried this. In 2006 he introduced a bill called, you guessed it, The Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act. That bill also would have made it illegal to sell M-rated games to anyone under the age of 17, and like everyotherbill that has attempted such a thing, it failed.

For his part, Lee Terry is hoping that by using the ESRB's rating system, the bill may have a better chance at success. "This bill doesn't involve itself in content or defining the standards for 'mature' or 'adults only,'" he told Daily Variety. "It simply requires the retailer to post what the industry has defined as 'mature' and 'adults only' so that parents can know, and requires checking of identification." This gets around the issue of having to make a ruling on content, which is what ultimately killed the Louisiana law.

The ESA has responded to the bill. "The Entertainment Software Association shares Representatives Matheson and Terry’s goal of ensuring children are playing parent-approved computer and video games," said an ESA spokesperson. "That is why the ESA consistently works with parent groups, encouraging caregivers to check each game's ESRB rating and content descriptors—a system three-quarters of parents rely on regularly according to the Federal Trade Commission... Empowering parents, not enacting unconstitutional legislation, is the best way to control the games children play."

The timing of this bill is rather unfortunate, as the FTC has just released its own findings that show M-rated games are getting harder for children to buy. In December 2007 Ars discussed the findings of the MediaWise gaming report card, which pointed out that it was much easier for children to purchase R-rated media than M-rated games. The FTC's latest report echoes the report card data.

It's unconstitutional for laws to target the content in games while ignoring other forms of media such as movies and music, and as it has been proven in California, Hollywood and the publishing industry will take the gaming industry's side. After all, there is no way the MPAA would assent to legislation that could open the door for ID checks at R-rated movies, or fines for theaters that allow minors into R-rated films.

Gaming legislation criminalizing the sale of games to minors has a long and expensive history of failure, and this bill looks no different. This looks more like political grandstanding than a practical attempt to pass legislation, but one never knows in an election year.

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